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vtandrea

spike on miltoniopsis (!)

vtandrea
10 years ago

I know miltoniopsis (ses?) are hard to reflower but today I see an emerging spike on my one and only. I got it in full bloom a year ago. It's been living on the window sill (east) above my kitchen sink. From the pleated leaves you can see that it wants even more water than the every-other-day dousing it gets, but even so, it seems fairly content.

{{gwi:156376}}

Comments (9)

  • terpguy
    10 years ago

    Congrats Andrea! Keep your eye on it to make sure it doesn't get stuck in the leaf. If it does you have to gently pull it out or it will start growing very crooked.

  • vtandrea
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yes, I'll keep a close eye on it. Not hard since I see it every time I go to the kitchen sink! Very excited about this. My husband seems to think another one is developing on the same pbulb.

  • bob8_gw
    10 years ago

    Did you say, every day watering. If so I believe that is too much and you rotted the roots. That said it is still happy to provide you with a spike or two. This is my first full year with fooling with miltoniopsis. I however have a small greenhouse. During the winter I only watered once a week and in summer no more than every 4 days. There is humidity in the greenhouse in the winter but once summer comes and the vents get opened forget about humidity. The one of mine that just this past week set spikes was getting more light the the other few. Next year, I'll make sure they get more light. I however do mist these guys daily in the summer time.

    Hope this helps
    Bob in Albany, N.Y

  • vtandrea
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I believe someone (Jane, maybe) said that hers needed very frequent watering too. I'm not going to unpot this orchid until after the bloom, but I doubt the roots are rotted. They're growing right out of the bottom of the pot.

  • vtandrea
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The more I think about the response above about my probably rotting the miltoniopsis' roots, the more I feel a little irritated that the person responded with such a negative prognosis. If the leaves are pleated, as seen in the photo, can it also mean rotted roots? At least a little encouragement could have been given.

  • arthurm
    10 years ago

    Andrea, the plant looks fine. These orchids are regarded as extremely difficult in certain climates such as here because they are narrow temperature range orchids, so you need to have a glass-house set up especially for them with misting systems to control the humidity and lower maximum temperatures a bit.
    Of course people could try growing them in their house, but there is little expertise in that area here because there are many orchids that can be grown outside all year.

  • westoh Z6
    10 years ago

    Andrea,

    Just an FYI, but in my experience the pleating is from lack of humidity, not a lack of watering. Something to be careful/mindful of when dealing with these. I do agree that if you see viable roots coming out of the bottom, probably good roots overall.

    Not to be a downer or anything, but it is after year one that I lost my 3 or 4, so be diligent with it's care this coming year.

    Good job on the re-bloom.

    Bob

  • vtandrea
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Pleating in this case was from lack of water, hard though it is to believe. I did unpot this guy and found nothing but healthy roots. It gets watered every other day and seems to thrive in the kitchen humidity. Have a look:

    {{gwi:156379}}

    {{gwi:156380}}

  • westoh Z6
    9 years ago

    I see the spike has worked it way out nicely too.

    Good job.

    Bob

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